The symptoms were mild and  seemingly innocuous at first: mostly coughing and fatigue. But  it wasn't long before Sriyono got a grim diagnosis -- he had  asbestosis -- an incurable scarring of the lungs that often  leads to cancer.
It was caused by decades of inhaling asbestos fibres at  the factory where the 44-year-old still works outside the  sprawling capital Jakarta.
"There was a feeling of shock," said the rail-thin  Sriyono, who like many Indonesians goes by one name.
"There was no information telling us that asbestos could  cause diseases like cancer when I got into the industry," he  told AFP.
The soft-spoken father of three is the first person to  win compensation for exposure to asbestos in Southeast Asia's  biggest economy -- one of the world's top consumers of a toxic  material blamed for more than 100,000 annual deaths globally.
He was awarded 57 million rupiah ($4,200) by the  government this year, and he may not be the last: a local NGO  is pushing for compensation in .

Indonesia's asbestos 'time bomb'

PTI Automatic

President Vladimir Putin today said  Russians "do not want and will not stand for" a Ukraine-style  coup as he responded to a question from a rival presidential  candidate at his annual press conference.
"Do you want us to have coup attempts here? We've already  been through all that. You want to go back to that? I am sure  that the overwhelming majority of Russian citizens do not want  this and will not stand for it," he told liberal journalist  Ksenia Sobchak, who announced in October she would run in next  year's presidential elections.
"We don't want a second edition of today's Ukraine for  Russia, do we?" asked Putin, referring to the pro-Western 2014  "Maidan" uprisings that culminated in the ouster of Ukraine's  pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych.
"We won't let it happen."
Putin was responding to a question from Sobchak about  opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who has spent the last year  gathering support for a Kremlin bid.
Navalny is ineligible to stand due to a fraud ...

Putin says Russians do not want Ukraine-style 'coup'

Russian president Vladimir Putin  said today that he welcomed the United States' "awareness of  reality" in the North Korea crisis after Washington announced  it was ready for talks with Pyongyang without preconditions.
"This is a very good sign that shows that the American  leadership is moving towards an awareness of reality," Putin  said during his annual year-end press conference.
"We believe that both sides need to stop aggravating the  situation," he added.
"North Korea is a closed country. It's enough for one  firing (of a missile) from North Korea and the consequences  will be catastrophic," he said.
According to Putin, Pyongyang feels threatened by  Washington and "sees no other way for survival other than  developing weapons of mass destruction."
But he said that Russia "does not recognise North Korea's  nuclear status," added that "We need to be extremely careful."
On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in  Washington that the United States was ready to talk ..

Putin welcomes US 'awareness of reality' in N Korea crisis

The head of Alstom said today that  the French rail company will excercise its options to sell its  stakes in joint ventures with US industrial conglomerate  General Electric.
Alstom sold off its power and grid businesses to GE in  2015 for 9.7 billion euros (now worth USD 11.5 billion) to  focus on its rail business, including its TGV fast trains.
In order to secure the deal for Alstom's prized gas  turbine unit -- a large, lucrative business with long-term  contracts and income stream in a sector in which GE was  already the world leader -- the US company had to create three  new joint ventures covering renewable energy, electricity  grids and nuclear power.
But in September Alstom agreed to be swallowed by German  rival Siemens in a deal seen aimed at becoming sufficiently  large to compete with state-run Chinese rival CRRC Corp, the  world's biggest train maker which was formed via a merger of  two Chinese firms in 2014.
"We are exiting", said Alstom's chief executive Henri  ...

Alstom says to sell stakes in joint ventures with GE

Iraq has begun reconstruction work  at what was the country's biggest oil refinery before it was  damaged by intense fighting between government forces and  Islamic State group jihadists, the oil ministry said today.
The aim is to complete work early next year on one of the  units that will produce 70,000 barrels per day at the Baiji  complex which is currently shut, said ministry spokesman Assem  Jihad.
Constructed in 1975 and located 200 km north of Baghdad,  the refinery produced between 250,000 and 300,000 barrels a  day before IS seized it in June 2014.
Government forces retook the facility and the city of  Baiji in October 2015 during fierce clashes with the jihadists  but the severe damage meant that the refinery remained closed.
"The rehabilitation will allow the distribution of  refined products for the north of the country and reduce our  imports," said Jihad.
Baiji was particularly hard hit by the devastation  wreaked by Iraq's campaign to reclaim its towns and cities  from 

Reconstruction starts at Iraq's biggest oil refinery

The  head of Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas called today for  fresh protests across the world against US President Donald  Trump's controversial recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's  capital.
"We demand the Islamic world make every Friday a day of  anger and revolution in every capital and city until we bring  down Trump's decision," Ismail Haniya said.
"We ask churches, the Pope and our Christian brothers to  devote their Sunday prayers to Jerusalem," he added.
Speaking in front of tens of thousands of supporters in  Hamas-run Gaza at an event to commemorate the Islamist  movement's 30th anniversary, Haniya railed against Trump's  December 6 announcement that he would move his country's  embassy to Jerusalem and recognise the city as Israel's  capital.
"We will bring down Trump's decision once and for all,"  he added.
The event was attended by major Hamas figures as well as  politicians from other political parties, including longtime  rivals Fatah.
The two signed an October ...

Hamas chief calls for fresh protests against Trump Jerusalem

Delta Air Lines announced today  that it has ordered 100 Airbus planes with an option to buy  100 more, in a blow to Airbus' American rival Boeing.
Delta said it was buying the A321neo aircraft to renew  its narrow-body fleet. The planes have 197 seats.
"This is the right transaction at the right time for our  customers, our employees and our shareholders," Delta CEO Ed  Bastian said in a statement.

Delta orders 100 Airbus planes in blow to Boeing

Walt Disney Co today agreed to buy  key film and television operations of 21st Century Fox in a  USD 52.4 billion stock deal that could reshape the media-  entertainment world and step up a challenge to Netflix and  emerging tech platforms.
The blockbuster transaction also vastly reduces the Fox  media empire built by Rupert Murdoch, leaving the 86-year-old  tycoon and his two sons with a more tightly focused group  comprised of the Fox broadcast network, Fox News Channel and  sports channels.
The deal will see Disney acquire the vaunted Fox  Hollywood film and television studios, cable entertainment  networks and international TV businesses, bringing popular  entertainment properties including X-Men, Avatar, The  Simpsons, FX Networks and National Geographic into Disney's  portfolio.
"The acquisition of this stellar collection of businesses  from 21st Century Fox reflects the increasing consumer demand  for a rich diversity of entertainment experiences that are  more compelling, ...

Blockbuster: Disney to buy 21st Century Fox assets for $52.4

Israel  carried out a series of air strikes against Islamist group  Hamas in Gaza early today, the army said, hours after more  rockets were fired from the Palestinian enclave.
The Israeli army also announced it would close the border  crossings between blockaded Gaza and Israel -- Kerem Shalom  for goods and Erez for people -- from today "due to the  security events and in accordance with security assessments."
A military spokeswoman could not say whether the closure  would be for one day or more.
In a statement, the Israeli army said it had targeted  three Hamas military facilities in different parts of the  Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
"The military facilities were used as training and  weapons storage compounds," the army said.
"This was in response to the projectiles fired at Israeli  territory from the Gaza Strip."
A Palestinian security source said there were more than  10 strikes on the targets, which included a Hamas naval  facility and a military base near the Shati refugee .

Israel strikes Hamas targets after Gaza rocket fire

China said today it lodged an  official protest with the United States after President Donald  Trump signed a defence budget that opens the possibility for  US warships to visit self-ruled Taiwan.
Foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang charged that the  legislation, while non-binding, violates the one-China policy  and "constitutes an interference in China's domestic affairs".
"We firmly oppose any form of official exchanges or  military links between Taiwan and the US, as well as US arms  sales to Taiwan," Lu told a regular news briefing.
"We hope that the US can fully grasp the damaging nature"  of the legislation's Taiwan clause, he said.
Trump on Tuesday signed the budget, which includes a  clause saying the United States should "consider the  advisability and feasibility of reestablishing port of call  exchanges between the United States navy and the Taiwan navy".
Chinese media reported last week that a diplomat from the  Chinese embassy in the United States had warned that Beijing  .

China fumes over potential US navy visits to Taiwan

Sweden said today it would raise  the earliest retirement age from 61 to 64 in order to secure  future pensions, following a broad cross-party agreement.
"We are reforming the Swedish pension system in order to  raise pensions and increase security for both today's and  future pensioners," Social Affairs Minister Annika Strandhall  and Financial Markets Minister Per Bolund said in a statement.
"As we are living longer, we have to work longer if  pensions are going to continue to grow. This agreement is an  important step toward a longer working life and thereby higher  pensions and more resources for the welfare state,"  representatives of the four centre-right opposition parties  said in the same statement.
The increase in the retirement age will be carried out in  stages, and completed in 2026.
Under the current system, Swedes can legally retire at  the age of 61, though for financial reasons most choose to  work longer. The average retirement age is 64.5 years,  according to ...

Sweden to raise earliest retirement age to 64

Walt Disney Co. today said it had  reached a deal to buy 21st Century Fox for USD 52.4 billion in  stock, solidifying its position as a producer of entertainment  content as it faces new rivals from Silicon Valley.
The deal will see Disney acquire film and television  studios, cable entertainment networks and international TV  businesses, bringing popular entertainment properties  including X-Men, Avatar, The Simpsons, FX Networks and  National Geographic into Disney's portfolio.
21st Century Fox's television stations and Fox News  channel will be spun off before the sale, however.
"The acquisition of this stellar collection of businesses  from 21st Century Fox reflects the increasing consumer demand  for a rich diversity of entertainment experiences that are  more compelling, accessible and convenient than ever before,"  said Disney's chief executive Robert Iger in a statement.
Iger, who was previously expected to step down in 2019,  will now stay on through 2021.
Disney has been ...

Disney says to buy parts of 21st Century Fox for $52.4 bn

Scoreboard at tea on day two in the  second Ashes Test between Australia and England in Adelaide on  Sunday:
Australia first innings (overnight 209-4)
C. Bancroft
run out (Woakes)
10
D. Warner
c Bairstow b Woakes  47
U. Khawaja
c Vince b Anderson
53
S. Smith
b Overton
40
P. Handscomb  lbw b Broad
36
S. Marsh
not out
49
T. Paine
c Moeen b Overton
57
M. Starc
not out
4
Extras (b6, lb3, w1)
10
Total (6 wickets; 116 overs)
306
Fall of wickets: 1-33 (Bancroft), 2-86 (Warner), 3-139  (Khawaja), 4-161 (Smith), 5-209 (Handscomb), 6-294 (Paine)
Bowling: Anderson 26-4-64-1, Broad 23-7-51-1, Woakes 20-  3-63-1 (1w), Overton 27-3-69-2, Moeen 19-3-49-0, Root 1-0-1-0.

Adelaide, Dec 3 (AFP) Scoreboard at tea on day two in the

Tim Paine and Shaun Marsh  vindicated their contentious Test recalls with valuable knocks  to seize the momentum for Australia over England in the second  Adelaide Test on Sunday.
Wicketkeeper Paine, who was stunningly recalled to the  Australian team for the first time in seven years, led the way  with a swashbuckling 57 off 102 balls.
Paine, who took a couple of painful blows on his right  index finger which he seriously fractured seven years ago,  shared an 85-run stand with Marsh before he was caught on the  boundary pulling Craig Overton.
Paine had eight pins and a metal plate inserted into the  shattered finger which caused him to originally lose his spot  in the Test side back in 2010.
Paine raised his third Test fifty off 91 balls with a big  six off Moeen Ali over wide long-on and then a two off Stuart  Broad.
Marsh, in his eighth recall to the Australian team,  neared another half-century following his 51 in Brisbane as  the Australians passed 300 after being sent into bat ..

Paine, Marsh push Aussies past 300 in second Ashes Test

North Korea today blasted the United  States and South Korea as "warmongers" on the eve of their  largest-ever joint air exercise, saying it could trigger a  nuclear war.
The comments came as White House National Security  Advisor H R McMaster warned of the "increasing" possibility of  war with the impoverished but nuclear-armed North.
The five-day Vigilant Ace drill -- involving some 230  aircraft including F-22 Raptor stealth jet fighters -- begins  tomorrow, five days after the North test-fired an  intercontinental ballistic missile believed capable of hitting  the US mainland in a fresh challenge to President Donald  Trump.
The North's ruling party Rodong newspaper slammed the  upcoming drill.
"It is an open, all-out provocation against the DPRK,  which may lead to a nuclear war any moment," it said in an  editorial today, using the North's official name.
"The US and South Korean puppet warmongers would be well  advised to bear in mind that their DPRK-targeted military  drill will 

N Korea blasts 'dangerous' US-South joint military drill

Australia's deputy prime minister has  easily won a crucial by-election triggered by a dual-  citizenship crisis that threatened the ruling coalition's grip  on power.
Barnaby Joyce's emphatic re-election in yesterday's poll  brought relief to a government which lost its slim  parliamentary majority over the citizenship saga, and as it  battled falling voter support and internal division.
"This has been a stunning victory," Prime Minister  Malcolm Turnbull told supporters late Saturday in Tamworth, a  city in Joyce's largely rural seat in New South Wales state.
"Barnaby Joyce has been re-elected member for New England  with what appears to be the largest swing to the government in  the history of by-elections in Australia."
Counting was ongoing but Joyce had so far picked up 64.6  per cent of the vote, with his closest rival Labor's David  Ewings at 11.3 per cent.
Several members of the ruling Liberal-National coalition  were turfed out of their seats after the High Court in October  .

Australia deputy PM by-election win boosts embattled coalition

The US news network ABC has  announced that it has suspended its chief investigative  correspondent for four weeks without pay after he was forced  to correct a bombshell report on ex-Trump aide Michael Flynn.
Flynn pleaded guilty on Friday to lying to the FBI over  his contacts with Russia, a dramatic escalation of the  sprawling investigation into possible collusion between Donald  Trump's campaign team and Moscow.
Brian Ross, a longtime ABC reporter, said during a  special report shortly thereafter that Flynn would testify  that the president ordered him to reach out to Moscow during  the campaign -- news that sent Wall Street shares tumbling.
ABC later issued a clarification, saying its source had  in fact indicated that the orders from Trump came during the  presidential transition, after the November 2016 election.
"We deeply regret and apologise for the serious error we  made yesterday," ABC said yesterday in a statement, adding  that the special report "had not been fully ...

ABC suspends journalist over inaccurate Flynn report

Thousands of orange-clad  monks joined Cambodian Premier Hun Sen today for a prayer  ceremony by the famed Angkor temple, lauding "political  stability" after the main opposition party was dissolved, an  act that has cemented the strongman's grip on power.
Hun Sen has ruled Cambodia since 1985, making him one of  the world's longest-serving leaders, an accolade earned  through a mix of cold political strategy, deft public  relations and repression.
His rule appears virtually assured after a court early  this month disbanded the main opposition party ahead of next  year's elections.
As dawn rose over the tiered stone domes of Angkor Wat,  Hun Sen joined prayers with 5,000 Buddhist monks, in a  ceremony touted as celebrating peace and stability at the  symbolic heart of Khmer power.
Graceful apsara dancers, fingers curled in the  traditional art, went through their moves as thousands  gathered for the event at the vast Angkor complex -- the  centrepiece of the Khmer empire which draws ..

At Angkor Wat, Cambodian strongman stamps brand on kingdom

Manchester United ended Arsenal's 12  -match home winning run in a breathless encounter to close the  gap on Manchester City but Tottenham slipped further off the  pace with a costly draw at Watford.
With Pep Guardiola's pacesetters not in action until  Sunday, United's 3-1 victory took them to within five points  of the Premier League summit following emphatic wins for  Chelsea and Liverpool earlier in the day.
But Mauricio Pochettino must find a way of lifting  struggling Spurs after they dropped two more points against  Watford with a 1-1 draw at Vicarage Road that leaves them 15  points off the pace.
Jose Mourinho took his team to the Emirates with  questions over how they would approach the fixture after a  poor recent away record against fellow members of the "Big  Six".
But United quashed all thoughts of shutting up shop and  were immediately on the front foot, taking the lead through  captain Antonio Valencia in the fourth minute and doubling  their lead just minutes later ...

Man Utd stun Arsenal as Spurs slip up again

Suspended England star Ben  Stokes's highly anticipated return to the crease was over  almost as soon as it began in New Zealand today.
Playing in a limited overs match for his birth province  Canterbury against Otago, Stokes only faced seven balls before  he was bowled for two.
It was the all-rounder's first match in 69 days amid  speculation he is preparing for a dramatic Ashes call-up.
But while England are playing before a 55,000-plus crowd  in the second Ashes Test against Australia in Adelaide, Stokes  turned out for Canterbury at a village ground on the outskirts  of Christchurch with a crowd of about 1,000.
Canterbury, batting first, were in trouble at three down  for eight when Stokes was bowled.
The 26-year-old has maintained he was in New Zealand on a  family visit and just wanted to "do well, and contribute to  Canterbury winning".
Stokes is currently banned from international cricket  while British authorities probe his alleged involvement in a  late-night fight outside a 

Ashes exile Stokes fails with bat for Canterbury

Kraigg Brathwaite was leading a  West Indies survival effort today after Tom Blundell's debut  ton put New Zealand in a seemingly unbeatable position in the  first Test in Wellington.
Faced with a 386-run first innings deficit, at tea on day  three the West Indies had reached 107 for one with Brathwaite  on 34 and Shimron Hetmyer on 27.
They still need a further 279 to make New Zealand bat  again, with conditions much to the liking of the batsmen.
The wicket has browned off from the green cover on day  one when the West Indies were rolled for 134 in their first  innings.
Despite the Herculean task ahead to save the match,  Brathwaite and his opening partner Kieran Powell were both  prepared to take risks and attack the bowling.
Powell on 15 had an edge fall just short of Ross Taylor  at first slip and a chip from Brathwaite on 19 fell short of  Jeet Raval at short cover.
When the West Indies reached 41 after 15 overs, New  Zealand's first innings destroyer Neil Wagner was brought into 

AFP

AFP

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